Yale, which features on our top recommendations for smart locks, has long had a close relationship with Google Nest, which is seen in products like the aptly-named Nest x Yale Lock. Now, the home safety company is releasing a new model, the Yale Smart Lock with Matter (a smart home protocol), with a release planned for Summer 2025 -- and more Google Home compatibility than ever.
What's new with the Yale Smart Lock with Matter?
Matter is a smart home protocol, which enables interoperability between smart home platforms like Google Home, Apple Home, Alexa and so on and lets you choose how you want to control a device. It often runs on Thread, a connection type with significant smart home security benefits.
Matter support can sometimes be hit or miss, but Yale is promising seamless integration with Google Home on its new lock, including remote managing, making guest profiles and getting alerts. The new lock will be able to be unlocked by entry code, the app and a physical key.
Something else to keep an eye on is Yale's stated battery life for the new lock, which is rated at 12 months. Most smart lock batteries need replacing more frequently, but that Thread support could be helping here, since the connection is designed to save battery life.
It's no surprise that Yale will be discontinuing its Nest x Yale Lock in favor of this new model, but existing users will continue receiving support for the foreseeable future. If you do want to upgrade, we don't have a specific price on the new lock yet, but the Nest x Yale version started at $300, so similar pricing can be expected for the new lock.
Yale and Nest integrations
Yale's latest Google Home integrations could enable even more routines.
What's so notable about a Yale lock working with Google Home? In addition to the ease of use, it could make certain home routines easier to configure. I saw a firsthand example of how this could work when I reviewed the ADT+ security system last year. The connected Yale Assure 2 lock was able to tap into the Nest Video Doorbell and use Google's facial recognition technology to recognize a face profile as a person approaches the door, then automatically unlock the Yale lock to let them inside.
Now, I'm wondering if the latest Yale integrations would enable this Nest feature to work without the need for a go-between security hub. Although I don't have any details on routines like this yet, it will be interesting to test just what this lock can do when it arrives this summer.
If you want to learn more, you may be interested in our best smart home safe picks, where Yale also makes an appearance